PEOPLE from Scotland’s most deprived areas are “resigned” to a life of ill health and an early death.

That’s the shock conclusion of a parliamentary probe into cardiology services across the country.

And MSPs fear there are not enough doctors in areas blighted by poverty to allow Scotland to shake off its tag as the “sick man of Europe”.

In a report published today, members of Holyrood’s public audit committee were shocked to find some patients think pain is normal.

The investigation, which included a visit to the Drumchapel West health centre in Glasgow, also found patients did not recognise the symptoms of a heart attack, mistaking it for indigestion.

The findings sparked calls for the Scottish Government to take more action on health in deprived areas.

Committee convener Iain Gray, former Scottish Labour leader, said: “The committee discovered during its fact-finding visits to Glasgow that many people from poorer areas and from certain ethnic minority communities simply have an expectation of ill health.

“The powerful but deeply disturbing message was, ‘People like us die of heart disease, and that’s how it is’.

“The public audit committee are therefore calling on the Scottish Government to set out how they propose to address this fatalistic attitude within deprived communities and some of Scotland’s ethnic minority communities.”

The committee are also seeking an investigation into whether there are enough GPs in the areas highlighted by the report.